BOSTON (AP) — The state’s labor office says Massachusetts gained jobs for a ninth consecutive month in May, and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.6 percent.
Preliminary estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show the state picked up 7,400 jobs last month. The bureau also issued an upward revision of jobs growth in April, from the earlier estimate of 10,100 to 11,200 jobs.
The overall unemployment rate of 4.6 percent was a drop of one-tenth of a percentage point from April’s rate of 4.7 percent. The May rate was the lowest since December 2007.
The national unemployment rate was 5.5 percent last month. The state rate fell 1.2 percent over the previous year, from 5.8 percent in May 2014. The Massachusettsunemployment rate peaked in September 2009 at 8.8 percent.
